The council has 37 councillors, divided between 15 wards with between 1 and 3 councillors. Following the United Kingdom local elections, 2015 the political composition of Brentwood Borough Council is as follows:[1]

A major artery running through the borough is the A12 dual-carriageway, running from London to Chelmsford, then Colchester, the ports of Harwich and Felixstowe, Ipswich, Lowestoft, and finally Great Yarmouth. The old Roman road (A1023) goes right through the centre of Brentwood and joins the A12 (that bypasses the town) at the far ends of Brentwood. Within different parts of Brentwood the A1023 is called (from west to east) Brook Street, London Road, High Street, Shenfield Road, and Chelmsford Road. The other main road is the A127 which separates from the A12 near Romford and then proceeds easterly to Southend-on-Sea.